The present invention is generally related to drawing boards and more particularly to drawing or painting boards in the form of easels supported or carried in front of a person's body.
Artists and other persons who have to draw or write for extended periods of time without the benefit of more permanent surfaces on which to support their work are constantly faced with the problem of providing portable or temporary supporting surfaces for their work, such as, drawing papers, canvasses and the like. A number of innovations have been devised to provide such temporary or portable support surfaces. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,593,166, issued to C. Flach, discloses a portable drawing board supported in the front of a person's body by a plurality of straps connected to each corner of the drawing board and passed around the person's back and by an additional strap connected to the rear corners of the drawing board and passed under the person's feet. U.S. Pat. No. 643,164, issued to H. Schnell, also discloses a reading or writing desk for hanging over a person's shoulders with a plurality of straps passed around the person's neck and attached at the ends to the respective four corners of the board or desk similar to the support in the Flach patent. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 346,547, issued to M. Holt, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,814, issued to G. Hall et al, both disclose folders or cases designed for suspension in front of a person's body by a strap passed around the person's neck. U.S. Pat. No. 615,480 issued to J. Englund, discloses a somewhat different approach in which a music rack is supported on a person's knee by a rigid strut extending between the person's knee and the music rack, including a flexible strap passed over the strut and under the person's foot to retain the strut in position.
While the above-described inventions have certainly contributed to alleviation of the artist's problems in providing temporary or portable supports for papers, canvasses, and the like, there has still remained a need and desire for an improved drawing board or easel support and carrier that is capable of providing the necessary support for the paper or canvas, but which also would be more versatile in accommodating both sitting and standing positions, freedom of movement for the artist, a minimum of interference with the movement of the artist's hands, and which is comfortable and yet sufficiently stable to support the artist's paper or canvas as well as other supplies during use.